Diet Cults
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- $17.99
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- $17.99
Publisher Description
From “The Four Hour Body,” to “Atkins,” there are diet cults to match seemingly any mood and personality type. Everywhere we turn, someone is preaching the “One True Way” to eat for maximum health. Paleo Diet advocates tell us that all foods less than 12,000 years old are the enemy. Low-carb gurus demonize carbs, then there are the low-fat prophets. But they agree on one thing: there is only one true way to eat for maximum health. The first clue that that is a fallacy is the sheer variety of diets advocated. Indeed, while all of these competing views claim to be backed by “science,” a good look at actual nutritional science itself suggests that it is impossible to identify a single best way to eat. Fitzgerald advocates an agnostic, rational approach to eating habits, based on one’s own habits, life- style, and genetics/body type. Many professional athletes already practice this “Good Enough” diet, and now we can too and ditch the brainwashing of these diet cults for good.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Eschewing the term "fad diets" in favor of "diet cults," sports nutritionist Fitzgerald (Racing Weight) attempts to ascribe cultish behavior to the quest for weight loss. Noting that there's no single approach that works for everyone, but that each approach has effective elements (though some are only effective in the short term), Fitzgerald identifies what works and what doesn't within each of the major weight-loss programs. Along the way, he studies the paleo diet, the wildly successful Weight Watchers program, gluten-free diets, and the Atkins diet, along with old approaches such as fasting. He concludes with what amounts to his own cult diet. Noting that motivation is a key component, he focuses on common sense: eat lots of fruit and vegetables, avoid processed foods, incorporate healthy oils, eat high-quality meat and seafood, and, of course, exercise. Those who've stuck with Fitzgerald may feel like the kid in A Christmas Story when the secret is revealed, but it's a sensible approach, even if it's reached in elliptical fashion.
